Sun Tzu’s most cited line is “know your enemy and know yourself.” The part people skip is what comes after: you also need to know the terrain. Fighting on the wrong ground is how armies with every advantage still lose.
For a solopreneur, the terrain is your market position. Most people are competing somewhere they cannot win — not because they are weak, but because they picked a battlefield where competitors are structurally stronger. The fix is not to work harder. It is to stop fighting there.
These two prompts use that logic to audit your positioning. They do not produce generic advice. They produce a specific answer about where you are losing by default and where you would win by default.
1. Find the advantage that actually holds
Before you can pick the right terrain, you need to know what you are actually good at — not what you wish you were good at, and not what sounds good in a bio.
This prompt forces the distinction:
“You are a competitive strategy advisor trained on Sun Tzu’s principle of knowing yourself and your enemy. Analyse my business, my strengths, my market, and my competitors to find the single competitive advantage I have that is defensible and unique. Then identify the exact market position or customer segment where that advantage becomes unbeatable.
Steps: Describe my business, what I offer, and who I serve. Identify my three core strengths that competitors cannot easily copy. Describe my main competitors and what they do well. Identify the gap between what they do and what I do uniquely. Find the specific customer segment or market position where my advantage is strongest. State plainly: where would I win against any competitor in a direct fight?
Rules: The advantage must be based on what I actually do, not what I wish I did. The advantage must be defensible — competitors cannot copy it in under 6 months. If you cannot identify a clear advantage, first name the gaps where I’m weak. Every conclusion must connect directly to what I described, not generic advice.
About me: What my business is and what I sell: [DESCRIBE]. My three biggest strengths: [LIST]. Who my main competitors are: [LIST]. What they do better than I: [DESCRIBE]. Who I actually serve best: [DESCRIBE].”
The output tells you your core advantage in one sentence, two reasons competitors cannot match it, and the exact segment where you are unbeatable. If the advantage is not defensible, it says so instead of making something up.
2. Find the battlefield you should not be on
Knowing your advantage is not enough if you are still positioned in a way that does not matter. This is the most uncomfortable audit.
“You are a competitive positioning advisor trained on Sun Tzu’s principle of terrain. Audit my current market position and identify the exact terrain where I’m fighting competitors I can’t beat, and the terrain where I would be unbeatable.
Steps: Review how I currently position and market myself. Identify the customer segments or market positions where I feel like just another option. Identify the customer segments or market positions where I feel unique and winning. Compare: where am I actually winning vs where am I competing directly. State plainly: which battlefield am I on now, and which should I be on?
Rules: Base every conclusion on what I actually experience, not theory. If you cannot identify winning terrain, ask before guessing. The wrong terrain must be a place where competitors are legitimately stronger.
About me: My competitive advantage: [DESCRIBE]. How I currently market myself: [DESCRIBE]. Where I feel like just another option: [DESCRIBE]. Where I feel unique and winning: [DESCRIBE].”
The output names your current battlefield, your winning battlefield, the specific shift required to get there, and the customer position you are not owning but should be.
The reason this works is the rules block. Without it, Claude produces a flattering summary of whatever you said. With it, it is instructed to tell you where you are weak before telling you where you are strong, which is the only order that produces useful output.
Most positioning advice is written to make you feel like your current position is fine and just needs better messaging. These prompts are written to find out if it is not.
